Worried About Cholesterol? Order Your Own Tests

By

Anna Wilde Mathews

Updated Jan. 11, 2011 12:01 a.m. ET

Cheryl Lassiter likes to keep a close eye on her cholesterol levels, but with a high-deductible insurance plan, she doesn't want to pay the fees for repeated checkups by her doctor. So a few times a year, she orders up a lab test herself, using an online service that charges about $40.

"You cut out the middleman," says Ms. Lassiter, 56, a writer who lives in Hampton, N.H.